Multiwavelength, multilevel optical storage using dielectric mirrors

Optical storage systems store information at densities higher than other technologies and are less expensive per byte. Optical disk storage has been touted as a replacement for magnetic disks, but suffers from longer access times and lower data rates. The lower data rate of optical disks is partially due to lower disk rotation rates, but mainly a result of reading optical disks individually, rather than in parallel like magnetic disks. Reading several optical disks in parallel is possible but may complicate the removability of the disks. In this letter, we describe a wavelength-selective, multilayer disk based on dielectric mirrors that has potential to achieve a high degree of integration and parallelism.<>